What If I Told You?
by mag721
Summary: We all know that Finn and Santana's secret has to come out sooner or later...but what if Puck was the one who found out. Would he tell Rachel the truth? In my mind  and my shipper heart , he would! a semi-fluffy, Puckleberry-if-you-squint one-shot


**AN: Hey people! *No spoilers here, I promise* I had to post this before Glee aired tonight...We know Finn and Santana's "secret" has to come out soon. And I don't know if it's going to be tonight, but I wanted to post this one-shot just in case...Why, you might ask? Because I have this strange feeling that Puck is going to be the one to tell Rachel and about Finn and Santana. I don't know why, because I haven't seen or heard of any spoilers that would point to that even being remotely true...I just think it would make for nice mirroring of S1 episode "Sectionals" where Rachel was the one to tell Finn the truth about Quinn's baby. Of course, it's probably all wishful thinking on my part! But I don't care! :o) lol Anyway, I guess this also might seem little OOC of Puck… but I personally like the think that Puck's inner monologues with himself would be more along the lines of the glimpses we saw of him in 'Never Been Kissed'—a little more open and human than the brash exterior he likes to put off. Anyway, I hope you enjoy no matter what goes down tonight on Glee! Please read and review! :o)

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**_**What If I Told You?**_

"Just don't say anything to her," Puck heard Finn say.

Who was Finn talking to? And why did it sound like a big secret? Puck wondered as he turned the corner toward the choir room.

"Come on, Finn," Santana said sharply. "Everyone knows your stock is plummeting every day you have Treasure Trail on your arm. You need to get with a real woman."

Whoa, what were Santana and Finn even doing having a normal conversation with each other? Curiosity got the best of Puck as he quietly moved toward the voices.

"Santana, we've been over this a million times," Finn said, obviously irritated. "Just because we slept together last year doesn't mean I want to be with you!"

Hold the phone. Santana stole Finn's V-card? How did Puck miss this piece of information? Wait, did Rachel know? Puck wasn't sure why the tiny brunette was the first thing that popped into his head after hearing this morsel of gossip, but she was nonetheless.

He was pretty sure Rachel didn't know the truth. Otherwise, she wouldn't be constantly staring at Finn with googly eyes and declaring her love for him through songs and doing all that other cutesy couple-y crap she did with Finn that made Puck want to hurl.

"I think you _do_ want to be with me Finn, but you're too scared to admit it," Santana said seductively. "I think you're too scared of Rachel to admit it."

Puck straightened up as he waited for Finn's response. He didn't know why Finn's response mattered so much, but it did.

"That's not it, San," Finn said feebly. "I, uh, you know, love her, and I don't want her to get hurt."

Well, that's the most unromantic declaration of love Puck had ever heard. _I, uh, you know, love her?_ Yeah, really smooth, Finn, and _totally_ believable.

Puck rolled his eyes as he left the two bickering voices behind. He had heard all he wanted or needed to hear. Finn and Santana had had sex. And Rachel didn't know about it. That was all there was to it.

So what if he knew the biggest piece of gossip that people like Kurt and Mercedes would drool over? What did he care? It was stupid teenage drama, a new love triangle to tide the gossip hounds over. Puck thought about it a little harder. Why _did_ he care?

It wasn't because Finn was his boy, and he didn't want to see Finn get blackmailed by Señorita Loca. It wasn't because Santana was his go-to booty call, and he didn't want to see her trampled by Finn's inability _not_ to string along a girl. And it wasn't because crazy Rachel Berry was the victim in this situation, and instead of the being the one who told the secret, she was the one who would be crushed when the secret came to light. It wasn't about _her_, Puck resolved. Aw, hell, he groaned to himself. It was totally about her.

As Puck wandered down the hallway, he tried to figure out what to do. Did he tell Rachel the truth? After all, if it were him, he'd want to know if his girlfriend had been continually lying since before they got together. See, that's why he didn't do the whole girlfriend thing. He knew too well that trust was a hard thing to come by in friendships. Multiply that by a billion, and that's what you have to deal with in relationships. People always let you down; that's why he was the king of one-night stands. He didn't let his heart get involved.

So why in the world was he having this moral dilemma on whether or not to tell Rachel about Finn? Maybe Puck was just tired of Finn being everyone's golden boy. Maybe he was annoyed that no matter how many times Finn screwed up, he never had to do much to get everyone's forgiveness. Maybe Puck wanted Rachel to see that he was a good man and that if she were his girl, he'd treat her right. Maybe his heart was obviously just a little more involved than he wanted to admit.

He wasn't stupid. He had heard that Rachel was the only one who even remotely cared when he was in juvie. She cared. And that's why it was his turn to care.

Of course, being the flaky teenaged boy that he was, as soon as he resolved to tell her, he changed his mind. After all, he thought to himself, what would he really gain from telling Rachel? Santana would probably hate him for telling. Eh, he'd just lose an easy lay out of her. Finn would probably be pissed as well, but it's not like their friendship had hopped back on track to Bro-ville after Babygate anyway, so that wouldn't be too big of a problem. And it wasn't like Rachel would be throwing herself at him in return for his telling the truth, although he wouldn't be against having her tight little body against his. Puck mentally shook his head. He needed to focus. What was he going to do?

Artie would tell him to take the high road and tell the truth. His other sounding board was Santana, and it's obvious what her advice would be: "Tell her and, I'll cut off your balls." On the other hand, it sounded like she actually wanted Hudson, so maybe her advice would be "Get Manhands out of the way for me." And, once again, Puck was at a crossroads.

"Geez," he muttered to himself. "Who knew getting a conscience would be so rough on the brain?"

Just then, he saw Rachel rounding the corning with creepy Jewfro hot on her tails. He knew what he had to do.

"I told you before, Jacob, if you do not adhere to my fifty-feet-away-from-me-at-all-times rule, then I will have to force the issue in a legal manner," Rachel said shrugging off Ben-Israel's unwanted touch.

"But, Rachel, you're just so beautiful," he cooed.

"She said lay off, mouthbreather," Puck warned, carefully twisting Jacob's hand away from Rachel.

"Yes, Puck," Jacob gulped before skittering the other way down the hall.

"Thank you, Noah," Rachel said with a small smile. "Usually Finn is around to scare him off, but Jacob swoops in the second he leaves."

Rachel smiled again, and then turned and headed in the opposite direction. She really needed to get to the auditorium to practice her solo if she was going to convince Mr. Schuester that she (of course) deserved the solo for Sectionals.

"Rach, wait up!" Puck called after her, quickly jogging to catch up with her.

"Yes, Noah? Was there something you wished to discuss with me?" Rachel asked curiously.

Most times, Puck did more to avoid her rather than go out of his way to talk to her. It wasn't like they were friends. She tried to be there for him when she could, but most times she just kept her distance and her mouth shut. It wasn't the way she wanted it, but she figured it was what he needed so she never pushed the issue.

But now, Noah was staring at her intently, and she didn't know what to make of it. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something. It truly unnerved her, because it gave her this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd seen that look before. For a brief second, she saw herself last year walking up to Finn and telling him the truth about Quinn's baby, and that quick flash suddenly scared her to death.

"Noah?" she pressed.

"Remember how last year you told Quinn something you knew," Puck began, "and it wasn't really your secret to tell and it could've blown up in your face, well it sort of did blow up, but that's not the point. Anyway-"

"Noah!" she cut in sharply, her heart beating way too fast with anticipation and dread. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

He took a deep breath and gazed intensely at Rachel. Her eyes were guarded and wary, as if she knew something big was about to pounce on her. He hated that he was the one doing this, but she couldn't keep going around pretending that her relationship with Hudson was perfect when she really should just be waiting for the other foot to drop.

"Finn," he breathed. "I'm talking about Finn."

"What about Finn?" Rachel clarified, willing her breathing to remain normal.

"I overheard him talking to Santana. And well, there's something he hasn't told you and I think you deserve to know," Puck stalled for just a second longer, trying to figure out how to gracefully tell this beautiful girl that her boyfriend was a douchebag and lost his virginity to school slut whose main goal has been to make said girl's life miserable.

"Noah, you aren't making any sense. Is this really important?" Rachel deflected. "Because with Sectionals quickly approaching, we all must be on the top of our game-"

"He slept with Santana!" Puck blurted out.

He watched as the news registered in Rachel's brain. He saw her eyes widen at his outburst, and then flicker with pain, and then steady with resolve, all in the space of a few seconds.

"You're lying," she countered, but her voice shook taking all of the weight from her accusation.

"No, Rach, I'm not," Puck said apologetically.

"Then Santana was lying to you," Rachel said, grasping at straws. She turned away, but Puck caught her arm and gently turned her back facing him.

"Santana didn't tell me," Puck explained solemnly.

Rachel audibly swallowed as her eyes filled with tears.

"She didn't?" she lilted.

"No, I heard him talking to her, and he pretty much begged her not to tell you," he said softly, pressing his thumb gently against the apple of her cheek to wipe a stray tear that had made its way down her face.

"Then why did _you_?" she whispered. "Why did you tell me?"

"Because you needed to know the truth," Puck said assuredly. "Besides, when you knew about the baby, you were the only one who had the guts to tell Finn the truth even when it was hard."

"But I did that for purely selfish reasons," Rachel reasoned.

"Who says I'm not?" Puck nudged her with a wink.

Rachel chuckled quietly and gave him a half-hearted shove. "Yes, I'm sure that had _everything_ to do with it," she said, rolling her eyes. Puck smiled at her; it was so like Rachel, trying to smile through the pain and tears.

"Are you sure about it, Noah?" Rachel asked suddenly. "I can't corner Finn and Santana with just hearsay. They'll both deny it."

"I'm sure," Noah said.

Rachel then started pacing the small alcove of the hallway they had ducked into. "I can't believe he would do this to me! Granted, I was with Jesse at the time, and I did say that I had slept with him, but I told Finn the truth!"

Rachel continued ranting as Puck watched her go back and forth with herself like a tennis match.

"Last week before the wedding I told him that I had lied! And do you think he took that opportunity to tell me the truth about Santana? No! He didn't. He let me believe that we were both virgins and saving it for each other. He lied to begin with and he kept lying, and I-" she stopped rambling when her voice broke as she slumped against the wall.

Puck rushed forward and put his hand awkwardly on Rachel's shoulder where she stood with her head down, shaking with silent tears. "I'm really sorry, Rachel," Puck said. "Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut."

"No!" Rachel said quickly. "No, I'm glad that you were brave enough to tell me, Noah. It speaks volumes to the kind of man you are growing up to be."

He gave Rachel a half-grin, and she smiled sadly back at him. Puck couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride hearing those words. She always believed in him, even when he didn't believe in himself. That's what he liked about Rachel Berry. Well, not like-liked, but you get the idea. Or well, maybe he did kind of like her. She wasn't all that bad. Ugh, their goes his brain working overtime again.

"What are you going to do?" he asked carefully. He really hoped she wouldn't go lovey-dovey on Finn and forgive him right away. He hated to sound like a pessimist, but he was afraid that was how it was going to go down.

"Dump him," she said simply.

"Really?" he said, not believing her just yet.

"For the time being, yes. I think a break would be in our best interest," Rachel said diplomatically. "There are obviously some issues Finn and I need to deal with, since he felt he had to lie to me about this significant detail of our previous time apart. We cannot truly go forward as a thriving couple if we keep having arguments and insecurities pave the way ahead of us."

Puck smirked at her logical approach to her relationship with Finn. "I suggest you condense that reasoning into small, succinct words before you try explaining that to Finn. He might not get all of that," he joked.

A giggle slipped from Rachel's lips before she could help it. She bit her lip and just shook her head at the boy in front of her. She just couldn't help but feel stupid that she hadn't seen it coming.

She should have known that something was wrong the day of the Hummel-Hudson wedding when she walked in on Finn and Santana talking. She should have known by the way Finn told her he loved her that something wasn't quite right. She should have known that if anyone else had found out about it, that Noah would be the one to tell her the truth. They always called each other out; true, sometimes it hurt more than was pleasant at times, but they did it anyway. He did mean well when he told her; she could tell that much.

"I really do appreciate you telling me the truth, Noah," she said honestly.

"You don't hate me or anything? 'Cause you can slug me if you need to, I guess," he shrugged.

"I don't hate you," she said quietly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go find Finn."

Puck gestured for her to pass in front of him, and he watched her straighten her shoulders and carry herself with confidence as she began her trek in hunting down Finn. Right before she turned the corner, she glanced back at him. He winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up in encouragement. She smiled and nodded, and she walked out of sight.

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For the second year in a row, Sectionals was a tense event. Not only did they have to find a replacement member for Kurt, a good majority of the members weren't speaking to each other. And the silence was anything but golden. Rachel had blown up at Finn in Glee two days before, and Finn had blown up at Santana shortly thereafter. Santana took her hurt and anger at the situation out on Brittany who simply looked like a wounded puppy that didn't know why it had been kicked around.

Puck shook his head. He hated that the drama was partially his fault, and that it could possibly cost them Sectionals. But mostly, he worried that Rachel might change her mind about the way she viewed him. He didn't want her to decide that he should've kept his mouth shut and hate him for it.

But as he pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally beating himself up before they went onstage, he felt a tiny hand slip into his open one. He looked over to find Rachel smiling at him confidently. She squeezed his hand and then took her place onstage.

He knew then that everything would be okay. He knew that she would be okay too. Most importantly, he knew that _they_ would be okay.

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**AN2: Remember, reading and reviewing = Love! :o)**


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